Bowling lanes have long been coated with various clear protective coatings to keep them clean and free of ball marks, provide longevity and render a consistent friction coefficient permitting stable ball performance. However, the coatings along are not adequate to achieve these goals. As untreated they will eventually wear away from the constant rotation and sliding of the heavy bowling balls. Many of the balls are also somewhat abrasive and can eventually wear paths on the lane surface. In response to this weakness, oil preparations were introduced to protect the coatings and make lanes consistent.
While all bowling establishments use oils, application is standarized only for PBA tournaments. In those tournaments, the oil is sprayed on the lane across the entire width for a measured distance from the foul line. As the game progresses, the balls carry the oil beyond the application area along paths described by the ball. In championship, televised play, most of the balls are thrown on a path leading to the "pocket". As a result of most bowlers being right-handed, a path of oil grows along the right side of the lane. Spares shots and left-handed bowlers will spread the oil more slowly along the other areas of the lane.
Most professional bowlers are familiar with this oil migration and actually change balls as the game progresses to accommodate the change in lane conditions. Balls with greater friction characteristics are utilized later in the tournament to maintain ball control or hook. Also, balls are selected during the tournament for individual spare shots that travel outside the area deemed by the professional to be dry, or where oils has not yet spread.
Thus, despite the fact that millions of league bowlers regularly watch televised bowling tournaments, not only to be entertained but also to learn to become better bowlers, the existing art and broadcasting technology has failed to provide a method for visually displaying the migration of bowling lane oil during televised broadcasts of bowling activity.